Subject: Oklahoma's Farm News Update
From: Ron Hays <ronphays@cox.net>
Date: 3/18/2020, 5:56 AM
To: ron@ronhays.com



 
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OKC West is our Market Links Sponsor- they sell cattle three days a week- Cows on Mondays, Stockers on Tuesday and Feeders on Wednesday- Call 405-262-8800 to learn more.

 
   
Today's First Look:
mornings with cash and futures reviewed- includes where the Cash Cattle market stands, the latest Feeder Cattle Markets Etc.
 
 
Each afternoon we are posting a recap of that day's markets as analyzed by Justin Lewis of KIS futures- click here for the report posted yesterday afternoon around 3:30 PM.
 
 
Okla Cash Grain:  
Daily  Oklahoma Cash Grain Prices- as reported by the Oklahoma Dept. of Agriculture.
 
  
Futures Wrap:  
Our Daily Market Wrapup from the Radio Oklahoma Network - analyzing the Futures Markets from the previous Day.
 
Feeder Cattle Recap:  
The National Daily Feeder & Stocker Cattle Summary- as prepared by USDA.
 
Slaughter Cattle Recap: 
The National Daily Slaughter Cattle Summary- as prepared by the USDA.
 
TCFA Feedlot Recap:  
Finally, here is the Daily Volume and Price Summary from the Texas Cattle Feeders Association.
 


 
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Ron Hays, Senior Farm Director and Editor

KC Sheperd, Associate Farm Director and Editor

Sam Knipp, Farm Editor
 
Pam Arterburn, Calendar and Template Manager
 
Dave Lanning, Markets and Production

Oklahoma's Latest Farm and Ranch News

Your Update from Ron Hays of RON
   Wednesday, March 18, 2020

Howdy Neighbors! 

Here is your daily Oklahoma farm and ranch news update. 
 

U.S. agriculture is working diligently to maintain the stability of our food supply as concerns over COVID-19 lead to increased consumer purchases of groceries and other items.

The following statement may be attributed to American Farm Bureau Federation President Zippy Duvall about the commitment of farmers and ranchers, as well as a serious concern related to the U.S. government's decision to suspend visa processing in Mexico to combat the spread of the virus.

"Farmers and ranchers remain committed to doing the work in the fields, orchards and barns across the country to ensure Americans have access to healthy, affordable food. Particularly now, during these challenging times, an assured food supply allows families to focus on the safety and well-being of their loved ones. We commend the good work being done to protect families and our population and appreciate all the workers focused on ensuring food gets from our farms to grocery stores, and of course we are grateful for the health care workers ensuring we can treat those who are ill and contain the pandemic.

"The decision to halt visa application processing in Mexico will restrict the number of immigrant workers being allowed to enter the country. Under the new restrictions, American farmers will not have access to all of the skilled immigrant labor needed at a critical time in the planting season. This threatens our ability to put food on Americans' tables.

"We fully support the administration's efforts to protect the public during this health crisis. We are in constant contact with USDA, the State Department and the White House. We have urged them to find safe, practical ways to admit farm laborers as emergency workers for visa purposes while still protecting public health. Failing to do so will impact our ability to provide a healthy, affordable domestic food supply.

"We will remain watchful and vigilant to ensure U.S. agriculture and others in the food supply chain are able to continue feeding America, as we do 365 days a year. We are in close communication with our state Farm Bureaus, Congress and the administration as we all work together to protect our food supply and our communities in the face of the coronavirus pandemic."


Sponsor Spotlight
 
 
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The National Pork Producers Council (NPPC) supports Trump administration guidelines announced today to maintain the continuity of critical U.S. infrastructure, including the food supply.

U.S. pork producers supply the world's safest, most nutritious and lowest-cost pork in the world and remain committed to supplying Americans and consumers worldwide with the healthy protein they need.   

"We are committed to maintaining the core infrastructure of America's food supply: farms," said NPPC President Howard "A.V." Roth, a pork producer from Wauzeka, Wisconsin. "Pork producers and other farmers take seriously the special responsibility we hold for keeping people fed.

Telecommuting is not an option for us; we are reporting for work as always while taking all necessary precautions to protect our health and the health of those we work with."


In light of consumer concern over food-supply disruptions, Jim Mulhern, president and CEO of the National Milk Producers Federation, the largest U.S. organization of dairy farmers, offered the following statement:

"U.S. dairy farmers are stewards of a product that's harvested around the clock, 365 days a year, and they understand the importance of steady production as well as steady consumption. The U.S. food-supply chain is more than capable of meeting demand, and consumers should be reassured that milk and dairy products will continue to be produced and available in the coming weeks and months.



Dr. Mindy Brashears, USDA Deputy Under Secretary for Food Safety and Greg Ibach, Under Secretary for Marketing and Regulatory Programs jointly issued a statement to offer assurances that USDA is committed to maintaining the food supply pipeline in this country.

"The U.S. Department of Agriculture is rising to meet the challenges associated with the new coronavirus disease, Covid-19. As leaders of USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service and Agricultural Marketing Service, we can assure you that the agencies are committed to ensuring the health and safety of our employees while still providing the timely delivery of the services to maintain the movement of America's food supply from farm to fork.


"These agencies are prepared to utilize their authority and all administrative means and flexibilities to address staffing considerations. Field personnel will be working closely with establishment management and state and local health authorities to handle situations as they arise in your community. As always, communication between industry and government will be key. We are all relying on early and frequent communication with one another to overcome challenges as they arise.

"It is more important than ever that we assure the American public that government and industry will take all steps necessary to ensure continued access to safe and wholesome USDA-inspected products"

To read the complete statement from Dr. Brashears and Ibach, Click or tap here. 





Today I talk with Dr. Derrell Peel, OSU Extension livestock economist, about the COVID-19 impact on beef markets.

Cash cattle markets are under severe pressure, as are all commodity markets, resulting from the uncertainty caused by the COVID-19 outbreak. Dr. Peel said it has depressed the cash and futures markets.

Obviously, the markets are trying to figure out the worst-case scenario, which is what they are supposed to do, Peel said. We're down about $25 per hundred weight on the feeder cattle and the same is true for the slaughter cattle, Peel said.

Peel said he is not sure there is much prospect of the market recovering for at least a month but there could be short run ups in the market.

That could seem like an eternity, especially for cattle producers with animals ready for market.

In the southern Plains states cattle are coming off wheat pasture now and many feedlots have cattle ready for slaughter.

When cattle are ready, they're ready, Peel said, and there is not much we can do about it.

At the retail level, we're seeing strong demand for beef as consumers are reacting to the uncertainty.
Peel said closing restaurants could hurt beef demand as more than 50 percent of total food expenditures come from eating out.
We're shifting from food service industry to the grocery stores, Peel said. 


Sponsor Spotlight

 
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In response to U.S. Treasury Secretary Mnuchin's comments on Tuesday regarding the possibility of shortening financial market hours to address high volatility due to the coronavirus outbreak, CME Group Chairman and CEO Terry Duffy issued the following statement:

"We were quite surprised to hear Secretary Mnuchin say he is coordinating with the New York Stock Exchange on possible shortened trading hours, even though he has not reached out to all cash equity and futures markets including CME Group and Nasdaq. Shorter hours make no sense.

Financial markets are critical to managing risk and ensuring the resilience of the U.S. and global economies. Therefore, they must remain open, especially during this unprecedented crisis when news, information and events are changing at such a rapid pace. Markets are global, so shortening U.S. hours would not decrease volatility.

Rather, it could actually increase as investors turn to other venues outside the U.S. when developments occur."

Read more from the CME statement by clicking or tapping here.


The Oklahoma Association of Conservation districts has announced that In an effort to keep our volunteers, participants, directors, and district employees healthy and safe from the COVID-19 virus, OACD has made the decision to cancel both Conservation Day @ the Capitol (scheduled for April 15) and the National Land and Range Judging Contest (scheduled for May 5th - 7th).

If you were a registrant or a sponsor of the National Land and Range Judging contest, you will receive a full refund in the next few weeks.

These are some additional postponements;

The Oklahoma Conservation Commission has announced the postponement of the:
March 24, Delaware County Lawn Soil Health Workshop
March 31, Harmon County Cover Crop Soil Health Workshop

The Oklahoma Association of Conservation Districts has announced the cancellation of:
April 15, Conservation Day at the Capitol
May 5-7, National Land and Range Judging Competition.

The Decision has been made to postpone the following Conservation workshops of the Oklahoma Tribal Conservation Advisory Council in partnership with the Natural Resources Conservation Service, Oklahoma Conservation Commission and the Oklahoma Association of Conservation Districts:
March 26, Miami, Okla.;
April 7, Frederick;
April 9, Pauls Valley;
April 14, Arnett. 

*****************

Word from Mike Schulte at the Oklahoma Wheat Commission is that next week's regular Commission Board Meeting has been cancelled- and that the Wheat Day at the Capitol celebration is also cancelled for 2020 as well.

The Oklahoma Agricultural Cooperative Council (OACC) is Postponing their Annual Meeting and Legislative Action Day. 

With safety in mind, the OACC Board of Directors has decided to postpone our Annual Meeting and Legislative Action Day until further notice. The meeting and day at the Capitol was originally planned for next week.


Dr. Glenn Selk, Oklahoma State University Emeritus Extension Animal Scientist, offers herd health advice as part of the weekly series known as the "Cow Calf Corner" published electronically by Dr. Peel and Dr. Glenn Selk. Today, Dr. Selk talks about reducing the risk of a calf scours outbreak.

The ongoing human health issue (COVID-19) serves as a reminder to cattle ranchers about the importance of sound, common sense biosecurity measures that can aid in reducing the risk of a disease outbreak in the new 2020 calf crop.

Neonatal calf diarrhea (commonly called "calf scours") is one of the most costly disease entities in the beef cattle business. Fall-calving herds have the help of the hot, late summer/early fall sunshine to reduce the buildup and spread of the pathogens that cause calf diarrhea. However, in the spring, wetter, colder weather and muddier pastures often create environments that are favorable for calf diarrhea pathogens. Whether you have spring or fall-calving cows (or both) there are some key management procedures that will reduce the likelihood of a scours outbreak in your calves. These procedures are meant to decrease the pathogen exposure to the newborn calf.

1) Calve in clean and dry areas.
2) Calve heifers earlier than the cow herd.
3) Avoid congregating and creating muddy, pathogen infested areas in calving pastures
a) If possible, avoid loose hay feeding in calving pastures.
b) If hay is fed, use bale rings or hay feeders and move feeders frequently.
c) Move pairs to larger pastures promptly. Larger herds may want to study and employ the Sandhills Calving System.
4) Use biosecurity and biocontainment measures for all herd additions:
a) Isolate, quarantine, and perform appropriate tests on all herd additions.
b) Introduce pregnant herd additions at least 30 days prior to the start of calving season. This will allow time for exposure to new pathogens, antibody development and secretion of antibodies into the colostrum.
c) Do not add calves to the herd until the youngest calf in the herd is over 30 days of age. Buying a calf at a livestock auction or from a dairy for a cow that has lost a calf can introduce diseases that your herd may not have immunity against.
5) Isolation and treatment:
a) Remove sick calves from the herd immediately. One sick calf can produce overwhelming pathogen exposure by shedding as many as 100 million bacteria or viruses per milliliter of feces (500 million bacteria and or viruses per teaspoon of feces).
b) Visit with your local large animal veterinarian to determine best treatment options for the pathogens affecting your calves.
c) Treating the sick calves should occur after handling the well calves. Clean and disinfect all equipment. Clothing, boots, gloves, etc. worn while treating sick calves should not be worn when handling well calves.


Our thanks to Midwest Farms Shows, P & K Equipment, AFR Insurance, Oklahoma Farm Bureau, Great Plains KubotaStillwater Milling Company, National Livestock Credit CorporationOklahoma Beef Council, Oklahoma AgCredit, Oklahoma Ag Mediation Program, Inc., the Oklahoma Cattlemens Association, and  KIS Futures for their support of our daily Farm News Update. For your convenience, we have our sponsors' websites linked here- just click on their name to jump to their website- check their sites out and let these folks know you appreciate the support of this daily email, as their sponsorship helps us keep this arriving in your inbox on a regular basis- at NO Charge!


We also appreciate our Market Links Sponsor - OKC West Livestock! 
 
 
We invite you to check out our website at the link below too that includes an archive of these daily emails, audio reports and top farm news story links from around the globe.   
 

 
God Bless! You can reach us at the following:  
 
phone: 405-473-6144
 

 



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